Hi folks! I have a Caldera 3.0 that could use a friend and was thinking about a late xmas present to myself (yay xmas bonus :D). I wanted something bigger in scale and power,never had anything bigger than 1/10th with a .18. I've done a lot of research between them and they would be used only for bashing but was kinda leaning towards the Monsoon. Is the Earthquake like a bigger Caldera? Which is faster? Would love to hear opinions from owners! I did some searching but alot of its trouble shooting threads. All opinions welcome :) .

Thanks.

nitrosportsandrunner

12-21-2012 02:10 PM

RE: Monsoon vs. Earthquake.

the earthquake does share many parts with the caldera. diffs, shock towers and such.

The center chassis is longer to make it 1/8. That and much larger tires.

The monsoon is a tougher truck IMO. It has a more common 1/8 scale layout.

I would think it would handle better than the earthquake as well.

I havent had a nitro earthquake, but I had a backdraft 3.5 and my buddy had a aftershock 3.5. Man, they are quick!

The earthquake is probly a bit faster....as it has a lighter chassis. But I doubt the difference is very much.

Dads like rc too

12-21-2012 03:34 PM

RE: Monsoon vs. Earthquake.

I also agree with Nitrosports. The Eathquake will be faster if that is what your looking for. My Monsoon runs in the mid 30 mph range. Really 34 - 37 mph is realistically what you should expect from it. Torque is what it does best. It won't smoke the tires on the pavement "only in large part due to the massive tires on it", but you will hear them spin as they look for traction. Even in tall thick grass all four wheels spin hard off the line. The Monsoon would greatly benefit from a bigger clutch bell or smaller spur, if you could just get a bit more top end and reduce some of the torque it would be perfect in my opinion. Unfortunately your stuck with what it comes with, I have not found any optional replacements.

Another thing to consider is if you get the Earthquake, you will be able to use many of the Caldera parts on it. This will certainly help your wallet when trying to keep a back up inventory of spare parts. The Earthquake's power to weight ratio is much better mostly due in fact to the chassis difference. The Monsoon is a beast, it weighs a ton, but works great do to the larger engine. Also, I feel the Monsoon is most suited for the track, this is not to say that you can't run it anywhere you want and still have fun with it, but it handles really well, is almost impossible to roll over and is very nose heavy. It flies great over track jumps where there is a down ramp, this way you don't have to constantly correct in the air to get the rear down. When jumping in the yard on small jumps, this can be a problem. If you don't have enough speed and air time to get the nose up in flight, you'll be nose diving every time.

The Monsoon is a heavier built model, looking under the lids of both sitting side by side there is almost no comparison. The difference between the lightweight series and pro series are very obvious. The pro series comes with a steel spur gear, front cvd's, massive control arms, 17mm aluminum hubs, and very impressive shocks considering the price range. None of this is found on the lightweight series. I think considering the price difference, you get far more vehicle for the money if you purchase a Monsoon compared to the Earthquake. But considering what you want it for, and the fact that you already have a Caldera, if it were me, I would buy the Earthquake.

Valgath

12-22-2012 07:14 AM

RE: Monsoon vs. Earthquake.

i cant speak for the monsoon cause ive never owned one but i own a earthquake its been good to me never fails to start . Ive replaced alot of parts on it to make it better not that its fragile i just wanted to beef it up little ive put a ofna spoiler and spoiler support on it and ofna mt 3 splits rims on it ive upgraded to the 17mm hubs to fit the rims on it if you want to look to see what mine looks like look under my profile . i have broke parts but that is due to driver error but the first to to go for me at least was the throttle servo . Other then that its a really fun basher the factory tires doesnt hold much traction .

nitrosteve22

12-22-2012 09:28 PM

RE: Monsoon vs. Earthquake.

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Dads like rc too

I also agree with Nitrosports. The Eathquake will be faster if that is what your looking for. My Monsoon runs in the mid 30 mph range. Really 34 - 37 mph is realistically what you should expect from it. Torque is what it does best. It won't smoke the tires on the pavement ''only in large part due to the massive tires on it'', but you will hear them spin as they look for traction. Even in tall thick grass all four wheels spin hard off the line. The Monsoon would greatly benefit from a bigger clutch bell or smaller spur, if you could just get a bit more top end and reduce some of the torque it would be perfect in my opinion. Unfortunately your stuck with what it comes with, I have not found any optional replacements.

Another thing to consider is if you get the Earthquake, you will be able to use many of the Caldera parts on it. This will certainly help your wallet when trying to keep a back up inventory of spare parts. The Earthquake's power to weight ratio is much better mostly due in fact to the chassis difference. The Monsoon is a beast, it weighs a ton, but works great do to the larger engine. Also, I feel the Monsoon is most suited for the track, this is not to say that you can't run it anywhere you want and still have fun with it, but it handles really well, is almost impossible to roll over and is very nose heavy. It flies great over track jumps where there is a down ramp, this way you don't have to constantly correct in the air to get the rear down. When jumping in the yard on small jumps, this can be a problem. If you don't have enough speed and air time to get the nose up in flight, you'll be nose diving every time.

The Monsoon is a heavier built model, looking under the lids of both sitting side by side there is almost no comparison. The difference between the lightweight series and pro series are very obvious. The pro series comes with a steel spur gear, front cvd's, massive control arms, 17mm aluminum hubs, and very impressive shocks considering the price range. None of this is found on the lightweight series. I think considering the price difference, you get far more vehicle for the money if you purchase a Monsoon compared to the Earthquake. But considering what you want it for, and the fact that you already have a Caldera, if it were me, I would buy the Earthquake.

That kinda sold me... I already have larger Trencher tires on my Caldera and it works great even in snow,lol last saturday it was a snowball with four tires!(would the longer chassis help?) I thank you all for input and I think it'll be the Monsoon. :) ehh,I hate to ask but would the Monsoon have a better take off/top speed than the Caldera3.0?

Thanks :)

On

Dads like rc too

12-22-2012 10:00 PM

RE: Monsoon vs. Earthquake.

Quote:

ORIGINAL: nitrosteve22

That kinda sold me... I already have larger Trencher tires on my Caldera and it works great even in snow,lol last saturday it was a snowball with four tires!(would the longer chassis help?) I thank you all for input and I think it'll be the Monsoon. :) ehh,I hate to ask but would the Monsoon have a better take off/top speed than the Caldera3.0?

Thanks :)

On

Yes the Monsoon will leave your Caldera in the dust off the line, as far as top speed goes, don't let it fool you. It's almost twice the size of you Caldera, even the mid 30's will seem fast.